C30 The First Confrontation (1/2)

”Wait for me to send you off.” Lei Tia kept his head down as he ate.

”No need, I can —”

”For you.” Lei Tia refused to let go.

Qin Mian thought that it was not very close to the town from the village, it was a busy season, and there was no one on the road. By the way, where is our vegetable garden? ”It's going to get cold. If we don't grow vegetables, we won't be able to eat in winter.”

Lei Tia thought for a moment, ”We can split the dry lands into half an acre.”

Qin Mian said: ”Our land is too small, we can give out half an acre of vegetables, and after we earn enough money, we can buy a few more acres of land.”

”Yes.” Lei Tia had no objections. After thinking for a bit, he still explained, ”It's too early for anyone to eat sweet food.”

Qin Mian suddenly thought of something. Who would buy snacks early in the morning? This was something that he had indeed overlooked.

After Lei Tia finished eating, he took the bowl and went back home. After passing through the Cereal Field s, Xiao Hu and the little boy yesterday looked at him anxiously.

The two kids ran over excitedly.

”Uncle Qin.”

”I only need two people here.” Qin Mian was afraid that Xiao Hu would call all the children from the village over.

The two imps understood what he meant. They patted their chests and promised, ”Don't worry, Uncle Qin. With so many people, we'll get less.”

It was only then that Qin Mian found out that the other brat was called Goudan, Xiao Hu's cousin.

”I'll call you guys back when I leave.”

After Lei Tia plowed a piece of land and returned home, it was around ten o'clock. Qin Mian locked the door and wrapped the candied fruits with a clean cloth, allowing Lei Tia to carry them first so they could avoid Xiao Hu and Goudan'er. It wasn't that he was stingy, but that he didn't want to give them candied fruits to eat. He was even pointing at the candied fruits to earn some money.

He reckoned that Lei Tia had already left the village. Qin Mian went to the Cereal Field area to call Xiao Hu and Goudan over, instructing them to peruse the grains every so often before leaving in a hurry.

The path out of the village was lined with poplar and locust trees, and before the leaves had fallen, layers of leaves covered the view. Qin Mian ran a few steps and saw Lei Tia looking back from a hundred meters away.

”Sis, where are you so anxious to go?” Mrs Zhao held a jug of water and quickly walked over, following his gaze, ”Isn't that Big Brother? Are you going to town again? A few had just added a big buffalo yesterday, what were they going to buy in town today? Your days are past red. ”

Qin Mian ignored her and quickened his pace.

Mrs Zhao, on the other hand, quickly caught up with her. Her tone was so amiable that it caused chills to run down one's spine. ”Eldest Sister-in-law, I'm not talking about you.” ”If you have any idea on how to earn some money, then please take care of your parents. Otherwise —”

Qin Mian interrupted him and said, ”Sister Second Brother, I still have things to do, so I will be leaving first.”

”Sigh!” Mrs Zhao saw that he was dodging so quickly, and was even more sure of her guess. She grinded her teeth in dissatisfaction, stomped her foot, turned around and walked back.

Qin Mian caught up with Lei Tia and wiped his sweat.

Lei Tia looked back at him, and said indifferently: ”There's no need to bother.”

Qin Mian waved his hand. He had nothing much to say to the few people in the old residence, so he simply decided to treat them coldly.

Once they reached the town, the two of them headed straight for the most bustling street. On both sides of the road were small stalls selling all kinds of items. Pancakes, cloth, umbrellas, rouge, water powder, vegetables … From time to time, the shouts of the hawkers could be heard. Some of them had a listless and lethargic tone, while others seemed to be singing, causing people to laugh. The commoners, the businessmen, and even the hoodlums, browsing in front of the stalls, were all in a hurry.

Qin Mian found a spot to stand, and the enthusiasm for the auction suddenly faded halfway — Who would be the one to sell it?

He looked at Lei Tia with eager eyes.

Lei Tia quickly glanced at him, then placed the candy on the ground, staring straight ahead, without saying a word.

Qin Mian took two steps closer to him, patted his shoulder intimately and looked at him smilingly: ”Brother Tia, just shout 'yummy candied fruits, two coins a stick'.”

Lei Tia still did not say a word.

”If you don't shout, I won't let you eat lunch.”

Lei Tia opened his mouth, but then suddenly pushed the shelf into his hands, ”I'll go ask Zhang Tu Clan if they need game.”

After he finished speaking, he did not wait for Qin Mian's reaction as he quickly walked far away.

”Sigh, you — —” Qin Mian was speechless. Seeing that he had really left without turning back, his anger was immediately stoked, and his heart also emptied a few times. This small town was completely foreign to him, but he didn't feel anything special when he came here before. Today, he felt an inexplicable loneliness and unease, as if he was the only one in the world.

The passersby all looked at the bright red candied fruits curiously. Since they wanted to come over and have a look, they had some scruples. Thus, he could only laugh dryly. Was he really going to sell it? At this moment, he regretted proposing to sell the candied fruits. Why hadn't he thought of such a problem at the time?

”Little bro, what are you selling?” an old lady with gray hair asked with a smile.

Qin Mian hurriedly said: ”This is a candied fruit, it is sour, sweet and sour, and is suitable for children to eat. Auntie gave my family a string? ”

”Sugar gourd? ”Can it taste good?” The old lady's eyes revealed a strange light as she asked uncertainly.